A fair warning beforehand: Although this is more of a fun fanfiction in general, this chapter (as well as the next) contains quite some angst.
Don't worry however, everyone will make it out alive and I'll start patching things up right afterwards.
The Consequences Of Our Decisions (1)
If Ignis was to rate Caligo's combat abilities, he would say that the man possessed neither skill nor strength, but that his MT armour withstood a surprising amount of damage. Although the machine had taken a few good hits already, only its gold paint had begun to peel off thus far.
A victory over Caligo, however, was second to Ignis, as long as they kept the Commander from hindering the last evacuation efforts or supporting Ravus in his conflict with Noctis. Naturally, Ignis would have preferred to fight at Noct's side, but he was confident that with the aid of Lady Lunafreya and the former chancellor – wherever he had gone – the prince was well prepared to take on the Hydrean. Out of the corner of his eye, Ignis saw little of the fight with the sea goddess. Waves as tall as Altissian houses were crashing against the inside of the Wall, blocking his view and casting shadows on him and his comrades. The strain on the magical barrier was obvious as well.
Ignis dodged a couple of missiles Caligo had launched at him while Prompto slid through the machine's stilts from the other side with heavy machinery in his hands and a confident smile on his face.
"Here comes the Prompto Special!"
He fired a Gravisphere right in front of the MT's cockpit.
Its gravitational pull tethered Caligo to the spot, if only for a few seconds.
Immediately, Ignis and Gladio moved in to follow-up with spear and great sword strikes, but the MT's flame thrower activated and, with a sweep around himself, Caligo forced them back.
The gravisphere disappeared.
"You put up much more of a fight than that stubborn little redhead I captured, I have to give you that," Caligo said over the MT's loudspeaker.
Prompto halted his retreat and looked at Ignis, confused. "Stubborn little …?"
"Redhead?" Ignis finished for him.
All three of them must have come to the same conclusion, but Gladio was the first to say it.
"What did you do to Valyria?" he demanded to know of Caligo.
"Was that her name?" The Niff Commander's laugh reverberated through his armour. "I had to be stupid to tell you anything!"
Gladio shot him a glare. "You better speak up or we'll tear you down!"
With his great sword raised high, he jumped at the cockpit of the MT armour and struck with such a force that the machine stumbled back and fell off its stilts.
"Now's our chance!" Ignis called out to Prompto, before closing in himself to stab his spear in between the machine's joints – or at least that was what he had planned to do.
Another MT amour, slightly sleeker in build and not painted as ridiculously, dropped out of the sky in front of Caligo. It threw Gladio back, a split second before he could have brought down his sword on the Niff commander's cockpit.
"Where is he!?", the pilot of the second armour shouted.
"Who are you talking about?", Ignis replied.
The smaller MT pointed a mechanical arm at him.
"Don't pretend you came to Altissia without the Marshal!", the pilot replied. "Where is he?"
"Like Cor would waste any time with you air-headed idiots!" Gladio called back at him. "Just who are you, anyway?"
"I am General Brigadier Loqi Tummelt of the glorious house of Tummelt, but you will know me as the man who brought the legend of Cor the Immortal to an end!"
Prompto shot Ignis a perturbed glance. "Talk about an unhealthy fixation …"
In the meantime, Caligo had gotten his MT back onto its stilts.
"Why don't you prove your worth against those rats first before you take on the Immortal?"
"I will," Loqi replied and readied a chainsaw-like weapon on one of his armour's arms.
The gold-painted MT took a step back as though Caligo was planning to leave them to his fellow commander and retreat. Just as he turned around, however, a woman wearing black-and-red armour jumped from a roof on top of the MT and buried the tip of her magitek powered spear into the machine's outer casing. Her surprise attack threw off Caligo's balance, causing his machine to stumble into Loqi's.
Laughing, Prompto pumped a fist in the air. "Woo hoo! Go for it, Aranea!"
"Get off of me!" Loqi shouted as he and Caligo frantically untangled the limbs of their machines.
Using their distraction to her advantage, the Dragoon hopped from one MT to the other and landed before Ignis and Prompto.
"You didn't think I would let you have all the fun for yourselves?", she said with a smile.
"What about the evacuation?" Ignis asked.
"As good as complete. Biggs and Wedge can handle the rest."
Caligo pushed Loqi aside and took a step towards the Dragoon.
"Commodore Highwind!"
She put a hand on her hip. "That's Ex-Commodore to you."
"First you resign from the Imperial army and now you turn against the very same Empire who took you in?"
"This has nothing to do with the Empire in its entirety, Ulldor. This is personal. The Empire used to fight for a noble cause, but it's become pretty rotten since. Just look at the two of you."
"You take that back!" Loqi instantly demanded.
"I will show you what the Empire does with traitors such as you!"
Given his age and experience, Caligo really should know better than to fall for such provocations, but apparently he did not.
Aranea easily dodged the mechanical claw with which he tried to stomp her. She performed a sweeping blow and hit the limb's joint with destructive precision, breaking it into two. Again, Caligo's MT armour toppled.
At about the same time, Loqi launched a round of missiles, but Prompto quickly shot them down so that Gladio could run past and deliver another heavy blow to the chassis of Caligo's armour. The machine began to slide off the side of the street into the canal. Its engine whirred loudly, yet the propellers on its remaining limbs did not move.
As Loqi stepped in to drive Gladio back with his chainsaw attachment, Aranea jumped on top of his machine again and dislodged the mechanical limb. Her hands-on-combat expertise clearly overwhelmed the lesser experienced commander.
Meanwhile, the golden MT was drowning quickly. The machinery must have sustained too much damage to manoeuvre itself out of the canal. Just as the cockpit threatened to sink below the waterline, it opened with a hiss and Caligo emerged.
Gladio moved in to confront the Niff commander, but when Caligo tried to cross from the machine onto the side of the street, his foot got caught on a piece of metal.
"No! No, wait!" He desperately tried to gab hold onto the pavement stones, yet to no avail.
Ignis felt no remorse watching the machine drag the man to a watery grave. Judging by his character, he had not listened to Jared's pleads, either. His only regret was that they did not get to interrogate him on what had happened to Valyria.
Huffing in frustration, Gladio turned back from the side of the street when he realized that the commander would not reemerge. Surely, he would have liked to take a swing at Caligo's arrogant face.
Aranea slid own the remaining mechanical arm of Loqi's MT.
"Face it, pretty boy," she said once she had returned to the others, "you're outnumbered."
Although Loqi was completely encased by the MT's cockpit, Ignis could easily imagine his distraught and furious expression.
His machine jumped on top of a nearby roof, breaking several shingles as he tried to keep his balance.
"You haven't seen the last of me yet!" Loqi claimed and disappeared into the city beyond.
#-#-#
Beyond the Wall, the force of the waves had destroyed most of the altar, including the staircase that had led up to it. All that was left was a small walkway jutting out onto the sea, to which Luna had retreated in order to call upon the favour of the Old Kings.
The Starscourge, however, did not agree with her efforts to support Noctis.
It was squirming painfully inside of her, as if trying and failing to escape the divine magic she was channelling through her body, and wrecking every fibre of her being in the process. The longer she kept going, the worse it got. Luna pushed herself to her limits, but due to the two forces clashing within her, there was only so much she could do.
Shaking from exhaustion and clutching the Staff of the Oracle with her last remaining strength, she sunk to her knees. Gentle hands caught her as she tipped to the side. Their touch felt as light and cool on her skin as the winds drifting from Niflheim's tundra to Tenebrae.
Gentiana held her carefully.
"Please, rest easy now," she said, sounding concerned. "You have done more than enough for today."
Several moments passed before the pain subsided and Luna's surroundings came back into focus.
Far above the sea, Noctis was gliding through the air and hurling Royal Arms at the Hydrean. In a single warp-strike, he cut clean through one of the Tidemother's fins. It was obvious that he already had the upper hand. If he only saw this through, Leviathan would be bound by the covenant.
Luna hoped dearly that the amount of magic she had provided him with would suffice to last him through the battle.
Even so, this was but one fight in a much greater war. To attain the power to change fate, the Chosen King needed the support of two more gods, at the very least.
"My work is not done yet," Luna claimed. She tightened her grip on the staff and tried to get up, but her legs buckled. "Help me, Gentiana."
"What could you possibly hope to achieve more?" the messenger asked as she helped Luna back to her feet.
Despite Gentiana's hand at her back, Luna was barely able to keep herself upright. Still, she locked her gaze onto the faraway figure of the fire god on top of the airships. "The prophecy asks for five covenants to be forged. Unless Ifrit grants him his blessing, the Chosen King will be forced to turn to the Draconian for aid. He will never be free to choose."
"I do not wish for you to sacrifice your humanity to appease the Pyreburner," Gentiana said. "Although the King is still unaware of this, he already has the Frostbearer's blessing. This must be enough."
"You know it is not enough," Luna said firmly. "And only I may hope to free Ifrit of his curse."
With the messenger at her side to keep her steady, Luna turned to the battlefield.
"Infernian!" she called out to the sky. "A word, if I may?"
Her voice no longer had the strength to reach far, yet the gods were bound to listen to the Oracle, no matter the distance. A heat wave washed over her as the fire god appeared at the remains of the altar. For a moment, he merely hovered there. When his bare soles touched the stone, the puddles of water around him instantly evaporated. Luna's gaze traced the terrifying black patterns of the Starscourge up the fire god's body all the way to his deadly glare.
Ifrit's expression twisted into a hate-filled grimace. Without any warning, he raised his sword.
Robbed of all her strength, Luna could do little else but close her eyes.
The heat which engulfed the Inferian's sword grazed her head, but his blade never struck. Gentiana had reached past her and stopped the sword with her outstretched hand. Drops of water trickled down her palm where the cutting edge met the messenger's pale skin.
"Show some manners in the presence of the Oracle," she demanded firmly.
Just then Luna realized Ifrit's glare was not directed at her.
Scowling at Gentiana, he withdrew his sword. "You should have died. Why are you not dead?"
"There is still much left to do," Gentiana replied calmly. "The Frostbearer's life resolves neither around petty fights with the Niflheim army, nor a love long lost."
"I will not forgive you your betrayal," Ifrit harshly stated. "You turned your back on me when I needed you most."
"When you summoned the meteor, you were no longer the Pyreburner who believed in mankind. The generous god who once gave them the gift of fire. The watchful god, who wished to see them prosper."
A flicker of remembrance crossed the fire god's face and Luna seized this chance to voice her intention.
"Infernian, if you will allow it, I wish to cure you from this corruption and restore you to your former glory."
"In doing so, you will become much like the Accursed." The tone of Ifrit's voice revealed some small amount of disbelief at her devotion. "What do you hope to gain in return?"
"I want you to be able to forge a covenant out of your own free will. All I humbly ask is that you join the Chosen King in his quest to usher this world into an age of light."
"It will be an age without gods," the Infernian argued. "I have seen what guidance the Accursed has offered to the Chosen King."
"You misunderstand," Luna replied. "It is the Empire who wages war against all gods. The Accursed seeks only to dispose of the Bladekeeper, who deceived the line of Lucis into generations of pointless self-sacrifice."
A smile tugged at the corner of Gentiana's mouth. "You never shared the Draconian's view of the world."
"Knowing that your sacrifice might be pointless as well, you would still choose to give your humanity for my freedom?"
Her resolve remained unshaken. "I do."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Then so be it," Ifrit eventually said and lowered himself onto a knee before her.
Although they were still far from being at eye level with each other, Luna stepped closer to attempt the healing. She found it difficult to move, especially since Gentiana stayed back, yet she leaned onto the Staff of the Oracle and let her determination push her on. This might be her only chance to ever cure the fire god. It was rare for the Accursed to summon him, and rarer still, for her to be nearby when it happened. Had Gentiana not told her of their unholy covenant, she would not have know how to find the fire god in the first place.
Taking a deep breath, Luna held out a hand to the Infernian.
"Oh no you don't!"
In a cry of pain, Ifrit doubled over and fell to his elbows. All of a sudden, the Astral writhed under the effects of the Starscourge like a common mortal.
Luna turned her attention to where the street met the remains of the altar.
There stood Ardyn, known to the gods as the Accursed, with his hand raised and bend his fingers inwards as though he was crushing the fire god in his grasp.
"Slunk away for an audience with the Oracle, have we?"
His casual choice of words did not hide the fact that he was seething with anger.
"This is my decision and mine alone!" Luna protested.
"Naive brat! Has he not told you?" Ardyn pointed at the Infernian, who was still on his hands and knees, crippled by the pain. "I have already been where you are now, using that selfsame accursed power to try and cure the world! Do you intend to end up like me, a threat to the very existence of life on Eos!?"
Luna looked back at the Astral, and it tore her heart in two to see a god shackled by the darkness like this.
"I have already made up my mind," she calmly said. "Gentiana, if you would."
Her guardian needed no further instructions. Gentiana stepped forward and blew a seemingly gentle kiss into Ardyn's direction. Her breath transformed into a freezing gust of wind. Ice particles formed all over the body of the Accursed until he was frozen in place like a statue, unable to bat as much as an eye.
At the other end of the altar, Ifrit's tense body collapsed the second he was freed of the pain.
Taking pity on him, Luna approached the weakened god again. She dared to lightly touch his cheek when he lifted his head to look at her.
Focussing all her devotion, determination and faith, Luna closed her eyes and called upon her divine powers to draw out the Starscourge. The squirming, inky blackness responded, but even she was overwhelmed to discover how much there was of it. Ifrit carried the corruption of an entire population.
Her fingers grew numb and a tear ran down her cheek as she braced herself to take all of it into herself.
#-#-#
Roaring in frustration at her defeat, Leviathan sunk beneath the waves. What little remained visible of the sea serpent's greatly injured body glowed brightly before fading away. Although Noctis had almost torn the Tidemother to pieces, he knew from his experience with Titan that she would be back all well and healthy the next time he called upon her.
Apparently, the physical appearance was not all there was to a god.
He was still riding that high of his victory when his supply of magic abruptly ran out, the Royal Arms shattered into soul crystals around him, and he dropped out of the sky like a stone. He also crashed into the sea like one.
Noctis bit back a curse as he struggled to come up for air again. On this day alone he had gotten soaked with cold water more than often enough for the entire rest of his life. To make matters worse, his body was throbbing with an unfamiliar ache. It was, perhaps, the repercussion of spending so much more magic than he could normally build up on his own. At least the waves were finally beginning to calm down, now that the Hydrean was gone, so that he actually stood a chance to swim over to the nearest remains of Altissian architecture.
Faster than expected, Noctis reached one of the partially destroyed streets. However, once he had heaved himself ashore, he became aware just how much the use of the armiger had drained him. The exhaustion was not bad enough to keep him from standing up, but his body was practically begging him to get some rest. Noctis promised to himself to sleep for a week as soon as all of this was over.
He rose to his feet and quickly found his bearings. The altar laid not too far away and, with a little bit of luck and effort, he might make it there without another dip into the sea. From the distance, Noctis recognised Luna, Gentiana and the fire god and even though he could not tell what was going on exactly, a gut feeling urged him to hurry.
He broke into a sprint only to stumble and fall. His old back injury was acting up, forcing him to half-run, half-limp towards the altar.
Cursed be the gods if he had to fight the Infernian straight after his ordeal with the Tidemother.
#-#-#
Gentiana caught her once more as Luna fell back onto her knees. She felt miserable through and through, as though she truly was a vessel, filled to the brim with a thick liquid that was somehow moving on his own, occupying every space within her self and gnawing through her insides at an alarming pace. The Starscourge clouded her mind and weighted down her limbs.
In front of her, the Pyreburner proudly rose back to his feet. The last of the black markings on his body flaked off and dissolved, returning his skin to a healthy-looking colour. He radiated a constant warmth that might have been pleasant to anyone else, yet failed to permeate the darkness gathering within and around Luna.
"I shall always remember your deed," the Infernian said, looking at her with the same stoic expression most gods wore, before disappearing in a holy light.
Luna just barely registered how badly the light stung. There was no guarantee, but she sincerely hoped to have moved the fire god's hardened heart. She clung to that hope while it was getting increasingly difficult to stay focused on the here and now. As she slumped back against the arms of her guardian, dark clouds entered her vision. The staff of the Oracle burned like red-hot metal in her palm. It fell to the ground, clattering.
"I am so sorry."
Gentiana pushed a loose strand of hair out of Luna's face and the Oracle caught a glimpse of her face one last time before it, too, was consumed by the all-encompassing darkness.
The Oracle's world turned black, but Luna remained inexplicably conscious. She found herself powerless, slumped and kneeling on a hard ground in a strange and dark place. The pain was gone, but so was the real world.
Out of the nothingness, the ghostly apparition of a former Oracle appeared. Sylvia Nox Fleuret looked like she had at the morning of the day Festala Manor burned. She moved elegantly in her long dress, as would be expected of the former queen of Tenebrae.
Of course, Luna could not compare to her looks, with her dishevelled hair, torn dress and sickly pale skin.
"Mother …," she brought out with a hoarse voice.
Her mother's face bore not the kind and loving expression she remembered.
"I am greatly disappointed in you," Sylvia said, looking down on her daughter with disdain. "You lend your ear to the Accursed, you dare to question the will of the gods, and now you have set free the god who once sought to destroy Eos in its entirety. And what for? Without the grace of the gods, man cannot hope to survive."
Hearing her mother speak hurt on so many levels. During her training as Oracle, Luna had often thought to hear her mother's voice, and had longed to see her one more time. Sylvia's sudden and painful death had not just turned Ravus' heart to stone, it had also left a scar on Luna's soul. The passing of time might have healed the wound, but the events of that day remained forever etched into her memory.
Despite the emotional pain the apparition brought with it, some small part of Luna longed for it to stay near and comfort her, like her mother had so many years ago.
"There is always hope," Luna mumbled, trying to focus on those words and folding her hands in prayer.
In the darkest of nights, even the smallest glimmer of hope shone bright. She had to hold tight onto it.
Sylvia stepped in front of her.
"There is no hope. You have fallen for the false promise that one boy might live, and you have doomed them all."